The power of 1

I'm an atheist and have always believed or at least had faith in humanity that hopefully one day common sense and logic would prevail, Well after seeing photos of young children dead and others struggling for breath to stay alive, that faith in humanity is rapidly dissipating.

It horrifies me what one human can do to another in the name of what...!

It's kind of the point made in 'The Lord of the Flies' if anyone has ever read that book, where normal children get stranded on an island and turn wild. You would be amazed what people would do when in certain situations. I think this may have been posted before but this is a fascinating and famous study of how people react to orders, google or youtube Stanley Milgram test or look at this link:

http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/psychology/milgram_obedience_experiment.html

It is scary to think that less than 20yrs ago the Rwandan Genocide took place, and there are still similar acts going on in the world today and probably into the future. Common sense and logic is one thing, but in a world of 7 billion people, you are going to have a) A small percentage of the population will be sociopaths/dictators/violent/immoral and b) A larger number who will do immoral things in the name of a misguided cause.

It horrifies me what one human can do to another in the name of what...!

^^ I was literally just thinking that to myself last night...I watched this movie "Olympus Has Fallen" last night...where Koreans completely attacked and mass murdered the whole staff of the White House in America.....just a side note, that movie is incredibly gory and graphic...but anyways, I get that its a movie and Hollywood over does it sometimes, but I was thinking to myself, regardless if this is a movie, these kind of terrorist attacks happen all the time...People murder and torture people all the time. Children, women, men, doesnt even matter your gender or age, where you are from, whast you believe, a life is a life....and neither will I ever understand how someone can have the mentality of "I'm going to brutally murder a hundred people today".....

I try hard believing there is SOME kind of hope for humanity...when I see little things like strangers give bums money, or charity events that give the homeless food, or children shoes who have none.....but when the bad outweighs the good, we start to have a problem and that hope is barely hanging on by a thread....for me anyways.

"Well after seeing photos of young children dead and others struggling for breath to stay alive, that faith in humanity is rapidly dissipating.

It horrifies me what one human can do to another in the name of what...!"

If you're talking about whats happening in Syria right now -- is this over a spiritual/religious thing? I thought it was government versus "the people".. not a religion thing (in this case, anyway). Do we ever REALLY know what people fight for?

There is a LOT of evil in this broken, fallen world. But there is also a LOT of good. I am trying to focus on the good. I may be naive but I think positive influence outweighs negative influence... and who knows what positivity can do to someone. It's saved lives before.. why not keep trying at that.

Britt, what's happening in Syria is just complicated and it's all due to religion.

Muslims are killing each other. Muslims are killing Christians. Muslims are blind, fanatic criminals and I'm not ashamed to say that.

Well our media here doesn't like to talk about what really happens as you know.. so we're being told it's all because the people of Syria don't like how the government oppresses them and want democracy. At least, thats the last I've heard (I've been trying to block news out, we don't get the truth anyway lol).

I won't get into the religion debate just because it really never ends well.. but I guess I don't understand why they're killing each other? What's the use/point of that?

S

S

Well I finally heard Syria described as a religion issue, but it was very quickly mentioned at the very end of the story, whilst showing really heinous photos (so I was definitely focused on the screen, not what was being said).

It makes me very sad. As a woman of faith, I have been taught to be spiritual and not religious. Spirituality (to me) is a vertical relationship between God and myself. That's what is important. God does not tell you to massacre people, but to love (new testament). It breaks my heart for people to use religion as an excuse. Its just that... an excuse.

And why the religion wars? Why are Muslims killing other Muslims, in the name/spirit/idea/whatever it is of religion? I really am curious, because like I said, the media isn't truthful,clearly, and who knows what ya get with google

And now I hear Obama gave the go-ahead to intervene.

Http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23847839

I guess it looks inevitable now that there will be Western Intervention.

Another worrying aspect is that Russia and China are backing the Syrian government

I keep trying to post a comment and contradict myself every step of the way, which shows how torn I am over this.

I want the madness to stop, of course. I want the government to stop killing their people.

But at the same time, the US intervening means a lot more than just "stopping" a government. There is no way to be sure just the government is stopped. Innocent people still die. It's just how it works.

The middle east hates the US. That's not news, no surprise. I've read so much about how the US keeps sticking their nose where it doesn't belong. But then if we do nothing, we're bad guys, too. Our people die, it costs our debt-ridden country heaps of money, and we involved ourselves in potentially another war. Wars are no longer fought for one side or the other to win. Lose-lose situation for everyone involved.

So what is an ideal thing (straying from the 'perfect-world' ideal). World peace, sure, that's what everyone wants. But what is something that ideally could be done while saving the most lives?

Accusing the Syrian government of using chemical weapons was just an excuse for the US to intervene. That's it, people! We were never oppressed, we were never sad before. No wonder why the middle east hates the US.
A few more days and millions of Syrians will be dead within hours. I hope your government is now able to pay its debts.

Might as well leave the country while you can
Things just got heated*

Hey Rabea, long time no see!

So... now I'm completely confused. Why are all these women and children being killed? Why all the fighting? Whats really happening? You only tell us it's an excuse and that's not whats going on... but how else do we know? We're fed the news, unfortunately, we have no way of knowing any different.

"That's it, people! We were never oppressed, we were never sad before. "

Right, you said it was Muslims killing Muslims and Christians. But why?

"A few more days and millions of Syrians will be dead within hours. I hope your government is now able to pay its debts."

Doesn't pay any of our debts, its only more costly (both financially and politically... not to mention our own people we lose, too). We, the people, DON'T want to be there. This President promised his way along the election cycle to "get us out of the middle east". Trust me, I don't know anyone who says "YAY, lets go bomb the middle east". It's not something the US people want.

(My post sounds a lot more confrontational then I mean it to read. I'm genuinely curious here, I want to know whats happening and don't trust what I'm told from the news).

The US is intending to intervene despite the Syrian president refraining it. Analysts say cruise missiles can be fired from outside Syrian airspace, and they would provide the safest option for allied forces. The US destroyers capable of delivering cruise missiles currently positioned in the Mediterranean sea are USS Mahan, USS Barry, USS Gravely, USS Ramage.

The US will be hitting debt ceiling in mid-October. Intervening Syria will add to the already existing burden. Additionally, there have been no conclusive evidence of the Syrian government's part in the attack. US insisting on leading or rather pushing the verdict, and hitting Syria sideways seems. . .odd. It'll put the gross economy itself on the red line. Unless, the central banks are backing them up with loans. Not sure. Why still put the economy at risk?

The West has no worthwhile strategic interest in the outcome of the Syrian war. The purpose of intervention will simply be to provoke an Iranian response, and 'justify' a war against Iran. The US or France or UK did not act in the particulars of the military coupe in Egypt, just canceled the exercise. A potential false flag operation in Syria intervention and all of a sudden they're 'shocked and appalled', displaying their humanitarian side. The US and Britain poisoned Fallujah with DU and chemical weapons on a ultra massive scale. DU was used in Kosovo and Bosnia. 10 years ago the US used chemical weapons in Iraq without a UN resolution.

- A majority of Syrians support Assad as indicated in an independent agencies report to NATO in May.
- Initial peaceful demonstrations were hijacked by 'rebel' proxies who killed Syrian police to force a response.
- The US is using proxies to force regime change in Syria (see Gen Wes Clark 2007 interview).
- The purpose of western intervention is to help 'rebel' proxies who are being defeated on the ground.
- There is no credible evidence proving that Assad has used chemical weapons.
- The UN's Carla Del Ponte reported that the only evidence to date points to WMD use by 'rebels'.
- Destabilization of Syria would just leave Lebanon and Iran in the way of US control of the region.
- Without a UN mandate, US led military strikes would be in violation of international law.
- Russia and China have made it clear they will not allow the US to force regime change in Syria.

Wrong or right humanity loses either way. A substantial amount of morality will be sliced off from what little is left on the platter.

"Wrong or right humanity loses either way. A substantial amount of morality will be sliced off from what little is left on the platter."

I 100% agree. Thanks for your post, that was very informative.

Who are the 'rebel' forces? Muslim Brotherhood? Citizens of Syria who are anti-Assad (I mean clearly they are, but is that 'all' they are?).

Http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/16979186

^^
A simple overview of some of the events in Syria and some of the background. Its from the BBC, a UK company but generally one of the most reliable sources.

Its a no win situation. Intervening may be the 'right' moral thing to do in theory, but the process of intervening will almost certainly cause more trouble.

-Do people really know that we are dealing with a ruthless dictator (family inheritance) who with his oppressive policies has conducted a war with his "own" people for the past several years.
-That there are approx 1 million children amongst the 1.5 million or more refugees displaced from their own homes in Syria, and >100000 dead, thanks to El Assad and his policies. That the UN, its sister agencies, neighboring countries (Egypt, Turkey, Jordan) are overwhelmed with the refugee crisis for over 1 year...all thanks to his military paraphernalia (Russian & Iranian)! What more evidence do you need to depose of one accused of mass genocides against his own people, who should have long been sent away.
- That Syria has one of the largest quantities of outlawed chemical weapons in the world, stored in 50+ sites, in many cities, according to intelligence (& self admitted..see Wiki).
http://www.nti.org/country-profiles/syria/chemical/

- The usual rumor mongers and saber rattlers (Iran in particular) abound in the middle-east as always. Israel is not even a part of what is happening in Syria today, but yet (just like N. Korea from recent past experience), Iran would not lose any opportunity to saber rattle...

-The US neither started the Syrian civil war, nor supported it. Obama, and the current US administration and its Allies, unlike his predecessor Bush, have nothing to gain financially or otherwise, but are very unwilling participants for obvious humanitarian reasons, if they ever get involved.
US and its Allies would have preferred to stay completely out of it, had it not been this latest very large scale cowardly nerve gas attack on innocents. I believe they will tread lot carefully this time, not un-necessarily endanger the lives of its Peacekeepers/soldiers without solid evidence. Obama wouldn't want to go down in history in the footsteps of Bush or his "cheerleader" Cheney using untrustworthy intelligence to make decisions as the one who started another avoidable Middle East conflict, knowingly well the outcome of the Iraq and Afghanistan incursions.

The entire World knows what happened, in Pics. The only known nerve gas stores are in the hand of Al Assad, not his (fragmented and poorly armed) opponents.

The only reason that US might get involved in this newest middle east mess is to uphold Justice and International Law on use of Chemical and Biological weapons. It does not necessarily need the UN Security Council approval (impossible with Russia and China holding VETO powers) for a moral response. The 2005 Kofi Anan initiated resolution after the Rwandan genocide, finalized in 2009, the RtoP is the way it will likely get around this stumbling block around an impotent UN security council. (worth a read)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility_to_protect

-This is not a religious war either, but one conducted by a dictator against his own people to stay in power, with multiple genocides, itself a violation of the International Law. He and his father before him, belong to a minority (Alawites <15%) in Syria and would not have stood a chance in a democratic election. Nor did they ever attempt to pursue the course of democracy in their lifetimes. Instead relying on the communists and the political Islamists to support them.

If anyone is to really blame for what happened, does one have to really look anywhere else other than the Communists (Russia, China, N. Korea) and the Political Islamists (Iran and their Lebanese Hezbollah) for upholding Assad's rule...which has resulted in this shameful unfolding disaster of immeasurable proportions on children and innocents (regardless of religion). Communism may have modernized, but its ideology (excluding free speech and limiting civilian rights) gives unlimited power to those in power in these governments, who instead of caring for their constituents, support genocide in the hands of fanatics/dictators and others in their pursuit of their anti-democratic philosophy (a fundamental flaw with this theory). Likewise, for the political Islamists.

"Damned if you do, damned if you don't", unfortunately for the US or its Allies as usual. Take the blame either way, from people who have very little understanding of why Americans (& Allies) do what they are sometimes forced to do. It is humanity who is stake, not anything else here. Not that they have a choice either way to bring justice.
(Edited 9-28-13)

It didn't start as a Muslim (Sunni) vs. Muslim (Alawi) war. I still remember that there were no obvious movements in Syria despite all of the other Egyptian & Tunisian revolutions. But I had a feeling that it was bound to start, sooner or later. And a few days later, I watched a video that was uploaded to YouTube, showing a group of people raising some banners and shouting "Freedom!" - they called their small protest "The Jasmine Revolution". And so, the thing expanded, and the oppressed people by the Assad regime were motivated to break their silence and fear and get down the streets with the revolutionary movements. The thing started 'peacefully'. And the president (or his political/military 'gang' which works beneath the tables, sometimes independently) didn't like the idea, so he went on opposing all of the demonstrations, killing the people with open fires, imprisoning as much as he can, and cutting off phone lines and internet services, just to shush his people. It was until then that 'some' of the protesters felt that they had to be armed in order to defend themselves, and since then, the massacres started. The Free Syrian Army (against the regime) was founded, and some of its members worked alone under the name of religion. And on the other side, Iran stepped in, Hezbollah, too, claiming that they are protecting the Shi'te religious places. That's why the People vs. Government war became a religious one.
And till now, Assad is still murdering his own people, with the ugliest weapons one could imagine, where a few days ago, he killed over 1,500 citizens with the internationally-banned chemical weapon, not to mention the millions that are refugees now.

Concerning the US interference, rumors say that the US will claim that it is destroying the Assad's regime, however, it will destroy the others instead, because Assad is not a threat to Israel, compared to the Anti-Assad religious people who are against it, and who, if Assad is overthrown, will cause their ally troubles.
Other sources say that the US will destroy both sides, not just the regime.
Whether it's true or not, Assad should be overthrown. He is a murderer who'll be enlisted in history books under bloody titles, amongst other criminal leaders.

S

Adonis....are you LP?

Well it's now been confirmed that chemical weapons were used so I'm asking the people of Syria and neighbouring countries...if it wasn't the government who administered them....who was it?

The Muslims Brotherhood did it. Our president is not murdering his people. I have a lot of friends who are against al-Assad but they all admit he's not a murderer.

Hellon: Good question. Though I am not Syrian, nor a Assad confidant, to answer this qn of yours as confidently as above^,

Would it be illogical to presume that the weapon/s came out of the World's biggest stockpile of chemical weapons.

Sure, if he din't need them to kill someone (like the Israeli's) he wouldn't have been producing and storing them, would he be ?

http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-syria-chemical-weapons-airstrikes-20130828,0,1281861.story

In 2007, he had a nuclear reactor project going (with the help of his Pyongyang buddy), till it got discovered and bombed by Israel...thank God for that, or else we could have seen a nuclear catastrophe today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Orchard

Why not simply ask the 1.7 million Syrian refugees which have fled their homeland as to why they had to flee their own beloved country? Perhaps, they were just afraid of Al Quaeda or the Muslim brotherhood (as claimed by some).

Sure he is an innocent Lamb, a Gandhian or a MLK or a Saint who wants to protect his people from the evil evil West! Thank God for the Communists who sleep in bed with him and support him in his endeavors. Thank God for the Iranians and the Hezbollah who supply him with the armaments and the Russians who supply him with planeloads of freshly minted currency to keep his country afloat.

I suspect he is using diversionary tactics till the Russians send enough ships to the area to counter the Wests' threat. They already blocked the UN security council move to condemn the attack.

"Sure he is an innocent Lamb, a Gandhian or a MLK or a saint who wants to protect his people from the wvil evil West! Thank God for the Communists who sleep in bed with him. Thank God for the Iranians and the Hezbollah who supply him with the armaments and the Russians who supply him with planeloads of currency to keep his country afloat."

Thank "God" for the NATO who will be bombing us within a few days.

"I suspect he is using diversionary tactics till the Russians send enough ships to the area to counter the Wests' threat."

I can only hope so!

"Why not ask the 1.7 million refugees which have fled Syria as to why they had to flee their own beloved country? Perhaps, they were just afraid of Al Quaeda or the Muslim brotherhood (as claimed by some)."

Why don't you ask the millions of refugees who have fled their own beloved country, Palestine, as to why they had to do that? What were they afraid of?

Why don't you ask the millions of orphans in Afghanistan who are being sold and raped and murdered as to why they lived like this?

Why don't you ask us, the Syrians who suffered for years but still didn't leave our country, who sleep everyday to the sounds of bombings and wake up to bad news as to why we are being threatened all the time by the US gov?

As if US (NATO not involved) had any choice. Today, he bombs, kills and makes homeless his own people. Tomorrow, he does something more unpredictable...like unleash his poison gases on to Israelites or ships them to Europe/US covertly.

When Hitler worked on ethnic cleansing, sure his followers bought his logic hook, line and sinker...ended up in WWII.
Today, if the world lets El Bashar get away with a heinous crime, or multiple genocide's...would you trust him to turn in to a Saint tomorrow if let go scot free? Would anyone trust him at all with his constant rhetoric (The middle east will go up in flames) and threats to the world?
It is his "blind" followers like you (like Hitler's) who worship him and serve as his cheerleaders who will be responsible for any outcome.
They did have a choice...depose him and have democratic elections and let the will of the people prevail, OR maybe if he was so much of a Saint, he could have offered to step down himself in good faith and supervised a fair and free government.

Sure, if we follow this wonderful logic of yours Ms., perhaps the West was to blame for Hitler, Mussolini and the Japanese onslaught in WWII, and the West is now to blame for all Mr. El Assad has done so far (statistics already presented by the UN). These statistics far outstrip what the maximum potential of the so US/Allied bombings would ever be.

Time to "duck" and run for cover rather than argue over Mr. El Assad.

Addendum: Saw additional stuff on Afghanistan and Palestine posted above, after I posted my initial response.
Isn't this what the standard rambling that folks around your homeland specialize in. How come, I have to answer this BS? Let the mods or your club members answer your qns.

Yeah. Al-Assad bombed, killed, oppressed and Obama only wants justice to be served...
Your ignorance left me speechless again, ALS.

you know? I really want the NATO to attack us. Let the world witness another crime and still stay silent.

Whatever you say, Ms. Wise lady...I am just an ignorant, as you say. I din't know Obama (an elected President of a free country) was that feared in your country.

But, nevertheless, don't forget to "duck" or "run" if the bombs do come down on Assad's hometown.

I will (with Britt and your other P&Q colleagues) certainly pray for your safe passage.

"I will (with Britt and your other P&Q colleagues) certainly pray for your safe passage."

Always praying!

You know? I really want the NATO to attack us. Let the world witness another crime and still stay silent.

^^^^

The first part of this comment well...I honestly don't know what to say in response. The second part...hasn't a crime already been committed by using chemical weapons regardless of who is responsible? The world is far from silent, be assured of that.

Noura, if Bashar were a good president, he would've stepped down two years ago. And there is no Muslim Brotherhood in Syria. There is "Jabhat Al Nusra" whose views are similar to the Brotherhood....

Anyway, many people are concerned with the US-British interference. It should've been done two years ago! And it's still ironic how the West is just concerned with the Chemical massacre which comprises about 1% of the whole death percentage since the beginning of the revolution. It's like.... "Bashar! 100,000 killed by missiles and tanks? mmm... Fine.... 1,000 killed by INTERNATIONALLY BANNED CHEMICAL WEAPONS? Hell no you Di-int!"
And what's more mysterious is this latency in interfering. I thought it was bound to occur yesterday.

Adonis, you are right.

Hello back at you brit
and everyone else
what noura needs to understand is that in our arab world
Every single other leader is there because (they) chose to let them stay and by they I refer to the higher ups that rule us- the same people that control obama and everyone else
call it the illuminati or call it whatever
these people exist and they control everything while we're busy pointing fingers

also to correct something
nato only interfers if no veto is present which won't happen cause Russia and China will prevent it

its Iraq v 2.0
where the US and its allied forces feel the need to police the world and we all know how that went well the first time

FYI from declassified US Intelligence report on Syria's chemical weapons attacks, from 2 hours ago:

http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/782080/u-s-government-assessment-on-syria.pdf

John Kerry outlined the case in a speech approx. 90 mts ago...I do not have a full transcript of it yet, but here are excerpts just reported in NY Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/31/world/middleeast/john-kerry-syria.html

No, this is not about policing the World with US tax payer dollars...taxpayers here are not funding the current admin. for it any more...a clear mandate laid out by Obama when he was elected President. He has no appetite for wasting taxpayer money for propagating wars in troubled lands. The US, under Obama's leadership withdrew from Iraq in 2011 (except support & training personell to train local security forces) and Afghanistan is next, by end of 2014, if all goes well in training local Peacekeepers.

The current US policy is about making sure that dictators and fanatics, and certain regime's who share common anti-humanity principles amongst them, do not get the wrong idea that they can get away using banned weapons (chemicals, biological & nuclear). No, the US will no longer want to see itself as the World's Peacekeeper, but does it have a choice?
Perhaps regional unions (African Union, etc) should take up the task of regional Peace-keeping (if they can muster enough volunteer countries and the monies) to undertake such tasks, rather than look at the UN security council (impotent since Russia and China got VETO powers) or the US.
Perhaps the African Union should "CONTRACT" with the Israeli forces to do their policekeeping...they would do a great job of it, much better than the US, I must say :) (Love to see the response to this suggestion from some members, who would rather see Israel and the Jews, wiped out the face of the earth....like Hitler did in the 1940's and like the current "faith based" Iranian regime).

Communist leaders and fundamentalists remain a major challenge...obstructionism in the UN and supporting dictators and fundamentalists remains their major goal, in their never ending bid to propagate anti-West misinformation. Cold war is long gone, but Russia, China & Korea have yet to mend their ways.

Re: "its Iraq v 2.0
where the US and its allied forces feel the need to police the world and we all know how that went well the first time"

^ It din't go well because after the dictator was deposed by the Int'l forces, instead of taking this opportunity to form a proper democratic govt., the local people engaged in religion politics (Sunni vs Shia). The usual regional disruptive forces like Iran, Hezbollah & the infamous Al Quaeda's banded together with the Communists and engaged in anti-US/anti-West propaganda to the extent the liberators were looked upon as aggressors. US is long gone, but hate politicians continue to blame the West/US for the aftermath. What a shame....

You got it dead right Lonely Soul, and I couldn't of put this better better myself.
You speak the truth here, absolutely.
China and Russia oppose everything that the UN wants to do. They clearly should never of been allowed to join the UN as they keep clearly showing that they support the evil dictators of the world time after time after time.

I am ashamed that my fellow countrymen in the UK are not supporting the US in dealing with this latest tyrant, and prefer instead, to go hide under a bush wringing their hands, and of course, as always, blame the Americans for everything.
It's time also that the Countries around Syria acted and dealt with this Syrian problem, rather than the good ole US yet again, having to get involved in their problems.
No one wants to know as always, but America of course always ends up having to right the wrongs of this gun hoe killing world, and do what is right!
No one else has the guts it seems ever, to deal with these killing dictators but prefer to just talk about it all in endless debates that go on for years, whilst innocent children of the world are butchered and murdered. Wake up world and start taking some responsibility and act against these murderous dictators from wherever they come from.
If you shy away from these murders, then one day, some country will have yours in its sights.
You have been warned....

Lost Soul, I salute you and all Americans everywhere.
There are many Englishmen here in the UK that supports your country and will always do that.
Without America to keep us all safe, this world would be a far more dangerous and murderous place to live in.

Peter..

I've never seen eye to eye with you my friend lonely soul and probably never will- I can see why though you see things from a wildly different perspective and I can't blame you

But I fail to understand how you folks refer to the UN as if it's a divinely righteous organisation- when in fact it covers a lot between the lines- and if we refer to it then even then your one and only bed buddies Israel holds the record for breaking most UN resolutions thus far breaking international Law- you're a man of research so go research about that and then understand why I personally and many others would disagree on having Israeli patrol guards anywhere in the world

When it comes to Iraq I most certainly would disagree with you because prior to the invasion- al-qadea didn't exist in Iraq and neither have one bombing ever accord between Islamic sects- this phenomenon only occurred after the invasion and once again since you're a man of research go check it out and stop blaming it on secular fueds that never existed.

even your prior government officials admit that iraq was a crisis that you should have never ventured into so I don't understand why don't you

invasion by definition is when you forcefully inhibit an indigenous population without it's peoples Concent and
that is exactly what happend to the letter
And none of the reasons to why this invasion ever happend were ever justified but you did however maybe subconsciously blame it on the other side which happens to be Muslim's of all sort weather sunni or shea

you claim to love all people equally but I have a hard time believing that
not when you don't understand the pain and agony of being stryotyped as a terrorist or an outlaw just because your arab or named mohamed

---'
Without America to keep us all safe, this world would be a far more dangerous and murderous place to live in.

we clearly don't read or even share the same history books
since the 1950s I can point out more than 4 dozens of countries that don't agree with that statement
loooool

peace love n happiness 

^^ Peter, I am truly humbled by your kind words...after being repeatedly called "ignorant" time and again by some who seem to understand current US/Western policy better...one of interference and dominance of their lands for "oil & political influence"...as if the US/West has nothing better to do than throw its brave men & women in "harm's way" knowing well that the outcome will be all the same...earn more hate, in return for helping those in need. Thank you from my heart Peter. I am sure many of your fellow countrymen share your thoughts on your Parliamentarians not standing up for a just cause. Who knows, they may change their mind.

Interestingly, Kerry and Obama have both said today, that no one is more tired of wars than they are! Kerry's speech was truly outstanding today...I will post a link here, as soon as I can find a transcript or a video.

Rabea: I am not sure what you are upset about...US policy perhaps? or my read on it? I certainly don't make it, just give out my interpretation.
Re: "you claim to love all people equally but I have a hard time believing that
not when you don't understand the pain and agony of being stereotyped as a terrorist or an outlaw just because your arab or named mohamed"

^ I am sorry, I do not think I have projected you or "muslims" as "terrorists" anywhere or suggested that they are "stereotypes" because they have a "arabic" or "mohammad" name. I work with a few of "mohammad's as well as Jews" who have made it to the top in their respective fields, and earned my respect. My friendliest neighbor is an Iranian Palestinian.
However, a few months ago before you left, you went on a rant about why "US should kiss Iran's ass". Sure....that kind of attitude and demand would not bring back Americans to send its Peacekeepers to your lands, would it? The fundamental principal of asking someone to be your friend, is not to "demand", but "earn" it by showing courtesy and friendship first....which is what is so lacking in the middle east of today. I hope you realize.

Money makes the world go round and wars are fueled by
Greed
We all alike share one thing in common and it's that we only see what our governments wants us to see.

There's always ways to see between the lines and world media isn't one of them

my advice to everyone is- if you ever want to formulate an opinion about anything- go and see it by yourself first
media and public opinion are almost always misguided
because our governments all hide things from us
Its very simple really

I just want to understand how you reason with things
why you so blindly fall for your governments acts
and if many others agree with you and how you base your judgement

for example your justification of why things went downhill in Iraq when none of what you said is even of relevance to why US forces where even there to begin with- I even gave u the chance of checking your facts but you remain uncorrected.

Of course I'm going to have a hard time digesting what you say When your justification is a couple of mohhameds are fighting with a couple of Ali's and people are killing each other- these are your own words go read them up above buddie

if that's how you guys justify things then your naive

too naive actully- to actully think that any government cares for its people-

When in reality they wouldn't blink over a lost soul if it ensures income

the word to try n fathom here is greeed
something all the governments share-